Science and Technology News

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

8/6/2013 - LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif. -- The
U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman team successfully
delivered the 19th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP),
block 5D3, weather satellite to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., where
it will be prepared for launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V
launch vehicle. On Aug. 1, 2013, an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III
aircraft, operated by the 60th Air Mobility Wing from Travis Air Force
Base, Calif., transported DMSP Flight19 from Sunnyvale to Vandenberg Air
Force Base, Calif. DMSP F19 will undergo final launch preparations,
encapsulation and transport to Space Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg
AFB over the next 250 days and is on track for a March 2014 launch.

For the past 50 years, the DMSP satellites have fulfilled the military's
most critical requirements for global atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial
and space environment information. Through these satellites, military
users find, track and forecast weather systems over remote and hostile
areas for deployed troops. Additionally, DMSP supports a broad range of
civil users with sensing capabilities not provided by U.S. civil and
foreign weather satellite systems.

The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), located at Los Angeles Air
Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force's center of acquisition
excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. SMC
manages more than $60 billion in contracts, executes annual budgets of
$10 billion and employs more than 6,200 people worldwide.